4 ms·

I don't see any need for an attorney-- just get in touch with the debt collection agency, and see if you can work out a payment plan-- some kind of "good faith"

I don't see any need for an attorney-- just get in touch with the debt collection agency, and see if you can work out a payment plan-- some kind of "good faith" payment until you're in a position to make a settlement. Of course, this would have been much easier for you if you had dealt with it earlier, before it got to the debt collection attorney. As as business owner who has to deal with past-due debts, I can tell you that we're almost always willing to work something out with the debtor prior to handing it over to a third party, but once it is in the third party's hands, they're in charge of the show, and they want to recover their costs, too.

help_with_debt 16y ago
I didn't want to get in touch with them, before getting legal advice - for fear of incriminating myself or doing something unwise before getting proper counsel. I did try to deal with it earlier, with the car company, but the terms of a settlement were still too onerous. They wanted a lump sum figure (albeit with a 30% discount) - which was still way too high for me. If I had the certainty of future cash flows, I would have pressed to get it resolved earlier - but I knew that my cash flows would be in jeopardy in a few months, so figured it would be best not to get into such an arrangement. I do plan on working out something in the future though....once I can get through this.